The National Chess Academy, in partnership with the Chisinau City Hall and the Municipal Library “Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu”, re-launch the National Grand Prix “First Steps towards Victories”, which is a chess competition intended for children of preschool age (up to six years inclusive).

Ion Girnet, manager general of the National Chess Academy, has told IPN that the tournament that started today, November 22, is the second of this kind. The first such contest was held in 2011.

The goals announced by the organizers are to diversify the educational process, to initiate the interested children into chess gratis, to popularize chess and increase its role among the young generation and to promote the inclusion of children from different social strata, including with disabilities. The competition has six stages - five preliminary stages and the grand final – that will take place at the Library “Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu”.

Thirty children will take part in the first stage on November 22-23. It is expected that at least 1,000 children will compete up to the grand final, as in the first contest of 2011. The second stage will take place on December 20-21, the third on January 24-25, 2015, the fourth on February 21-22, 2015, the fifth on March 28-29, 2015, while the grand final on April 25-26, 2015.

Ion Girnet said that each of the National Grand Prix stages includes popularization activities, such as public lessons and recreational contests. Absolutely all the participants will receive presents from the National Chess Academy of Moldova, the partners and the sponsors. The winners of the final, boys and girls separately, will get valuable prices.

The children can be registered as participants in the contest by the child’s representative through the email address office.academia.sah@gmail.com or on the phone numbers 022 222 646 and 078 888 241. Participation is free of charge.